Unit 5 telephoning
By Zhang Wenjuan
How much you know ?
 Social and business etiquette can be
tricky, and making the right moves can
make a big difference. Take this quiz
and see how you fare in the following
business situations.
How much you know ?
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Your boss, Ms. Alpha, enters the room when
you're meeting with an important client,
Mr. Beta. You rise and say "Ms. Alpha, I'd
like you to meet Mr. Beta, our client from
San Diego." Is this introduction correct ?
No. Introduce the more important person
first. You should address your client and
say“ Mr. Beta, I'd like you to meet our Vice
President of Development, Ms. Alpha.”
How much you know ?
 You're entering a cab with an important
client. You position yourself so the
client is seated curbside. Is this
correct?
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Yes. When your client steps out of the car,
(s)he will be on the curbside and therefore
won't have to deal with getting out in traffic
or sliding across the seat.
How much you know ?
 You're in a restaurant and a thin soup is
served in a cup with no handles. To eat
it you should:
 A. pick it up and drink it
 B. use the spoon provided
 C. eat half of it with a spoon and drink
the remainder
B. It's not a cup of coffee, for heaven's
sake. And don't slurp, either.
How much you know ?
You're at a dinner and champagne is served
with the dessert. You simply can't drink
champagne yet know the host will be
offering a toast. Do you:
 A. tell the waiter "no champagne"
 B. turn over your glass
 C. ask the waiter to pour water into your
champagne glass instead
 D. say nothing and allow the champagne to
be poured
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D. It's more polite not to call attention to the
fact that you can't drink champagne.
How much you know ?
The waiter's coming toward you to serve
wine. You don't want any. You turn your
glass upside down. Are you correct?
No. Again, don't call attention to your
dislike of your host's chosen beverage.
How much you know ?
You're invited to a reception and the
invitation states "7:00 to 9:00 PM“. You
should arrive:
 A. at 7:00 PM
 B. anytime between 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM
 C. between 7:00 PM and 7:30 PM
 D. go early and leave early
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 A, B or C. It's terribly impolite to arrive
early.
How much you know ?
You're greeting or saying good-bye to
someone. When's the proper time to shake
their hand?
 A. When you're introduced
 B. At their home
 C. At their office
 D. On the street
 E. When you say good-bye
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A, B, C, D and E. In other words, it's rarely
improper to shake someone's hand. Make
sure you have a firm (but not painful)
handshake for both men and women.
How much you know ?
You're talking with a group of four people. Do
you make eye contact with:
 A. just the person to whom you're speaking
at the moment?
 B. each of the four, moving your eye contact
from one to another?
 C. no one particular person (not looking
directly into anyone's eyes)?

 B. Make eye contact with all of the
individuals you're talking with.
How much you know ?
 When you greet a visitor in your office,
do you:
 A. say nothing and let her sit where she
wishes?
 B. tell her where to sit?
 C. say "Just sit anywhere”
 B. Indicating where your guest should
sit will make her feel more comfortable.
How much you know ?
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You're scheduled to meet a business associate for
working lunch and you arrive a few minutes early
to find a suitable table. 30 minutes later your
associate still hasn't arrived. Do you:
A. order your lunch and eat?
B. continue waiting and fuming that your associate
isn't there?
C. tell the head waiter you're not staying and give
him our card with instructions to present it to your
associate to prove you were there?
D. after 15 minutes call your associate?
A. You've waited 30 minutes. Expect an
apology later, though.
How much you know ?
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You've forgotten a lunch with a business associate.
You feel terrible and know he's furious. Do you:
A. write a letter of apology?
B. send flowers?
C. keep quiet and hope he forgets about it?
D. call and set up another appointment?
D. Call and set up another appointment. And
don't forget to apologize for your error.
Imagine how you'd feel if it was you!
How much you know ?
You're at a table in a restaurant for a
business dinner. Midway through the meal,
you're called to the telephone. What do you
do with your napkin?
 A. Take it with you
 B. Fold and place it to the left of your plate
 C. Loosely fold it and place it on the right side
 D. Leave it on your chair
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D. Leave it on your chair. Definitely don't put it
on the table--what if you have crumbs on it?
How much you know ?
 You answer the phone for a peer who's
available, and ask "Who's calling,
please?" Are you correct?
Generally, when you are answering the
phone, you’d better tell the caller your phone
number and family name ( or full names ) at
first.
 Moreover, If you are calling someone, you’d
better adress the other party your name
immediately after you said “ Hello” and tell
him who you wanna talk to.
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Warm-up Practice 2
A mobile phone
 An IDD telephone
 A long-distance
call
 To leave a mesage
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A cordless telephone
 A collect call
 A card telephone
 A station-to-station
call
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Station-to-Station Call – A call placed to a
telephone number, with the understanding
that the caller will speak to any person who
answers the called number.

Collect Call – A billing arrangement that bills the
charge for a long distance call to the called
station’s telephone number. The person agreeing to
accept the call, whether or not they are a presubscribed customer of the Company shall be
responsible for all charges related to the call.
Regardless of whether the person is a Customer of
the Company or the individual receiving such a
collect call, he or she shall be subject to the
provisions of these Terms and Conditions that are
applicable to the call accepted.
Warm-up Practice 4
1. A: May I speak to Mr. Xu, please?
B: Hold on, I’ll get him for you.
2. Sorry, the line is busy/engaged. Can you call
again later?
3. Who would you like to speak to, please?
4. May I ask who is calling/speaking, please?
5. This is Mary, the secretary of the general
manager.
Warm-up Practice 4
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Sorry, you’ve got the wrong number.
Operator, could you put me through to 2389,
please?
I’d like to make/place a long-distance
collect call to the USA.
Sorry, the line is very bad. Could you speak
up, please?
Mr. Liang, you’re wanted on the phone.
Saying telephone numbers
 345089
 three four five oh eight nine
(British English)
 three four five zero eight nine
(American English)
Saying telephone numbers
889917
 eight eight nine nine one seven
 double eight double nine one seven
 eighty-eight ninety-nine seventeen
 888945
 triple/treble eight nine four five
 888869
 double eight double eight six nine
 eighty-eight eighty-eight sixty-nine
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Model Dialogues
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Dialogue 1: Asking for a connection
Dialogue 2: Asking to repeat or speak louder
& Explaining the reason for
calling
Dialogue 3: Explaining someone is not
available & Asking to take/leave
a message
Dialogue 4: Dialing the wrong number
Dialogue 5: Saying telephone numbers
Dialogue 6: Taking addresses